This upcoming Wednesday, the European Commission is expected to reveal a tax proposal would require digital media companies -- including Apple -- to pay based on where they generate revenue, rather than where they choose to locate their European headquarters.

The Irish government has reportedly selected Bank of New York Mellon to control an escrow fund holding up to $18.6 billion in back taxes collected from Apple, pending attempts to reverse a ruling by the European Commission.

The European Commission is willing to withdraw its court case against the Irish government for failing to collect some $16 billion in back taxes from Apple -- but only if the country collects the full amount, the E.U.'s Competition Commissioner said in an interview.

The head of Ireland's Revenue Commission has advised the calculations of Apple's unpaid tax bill are almost complete, with the final total the iPhone producer will be expected to pay the government thought to be around 13 billion euro ($16 billion), close to initial estimates for the European Commission-mandated payment.

Apple on Friday announced that its "App Development with Swift" curriculum is being adopted by 70 European schools, including ones in the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland, and Portugal.

Ireland's attempt to collect an estimated 13 billion euro ($15.9 billion) in unpaid taxes could take longer than previously thought, after Prime Minister Leo Varadkar advised to EU lawmakers that initial payments could commence during the second quarter of this year.

Apple has leveled a lawsuit against Attac -- the Association for the Taxation of Financial Transactions and Citizen's Action -- which ran protests at a number of French Apple stores on Dec. 2, including a brief occupation of the company's flagship Opera store in Paris.

The European Union's General Court has refused a U.S. government request to intervene in Apple's appeal of a 2016 European Commission ruling, which ordered Ireland to collect approximately $15.3 billion in back taxes from the company.

An activist organization staged a series of protests at French Apple stores on Saturday, calling on the company to pay the $15.5 billion in back taxes the Irish government has been ordered to collect by the European Commission.

The European Union's competition commissioner has asked Apple to update details on its tax situation, following allegations that the company relocated some operations from Ireland to Jersey to avoid higher rates.

In a rare blog posting, Apple listed a series of inaccuracies in the "Paradise Papers" tax story reported by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, while outlining its business in Cork, Ireland; emphasizing that the company is the "largest taxpayer in the world" and repeating that it "pays every dollar it owes in every country around the world."

After a 2013 investigation into its Irish tax affairs, Apple continued to avoid paying billions of dollars in taxes by changing its structure, moving the holding firm for over $250 billion in cash reserves to the Channel Islands, this week's "Paradise Papers" leak has revealed.

Two of the Athenry residents who have long opposed Apple's Irish data center are hoping to appeal a Commercial Court decision which otherwise greenlit the $1 billion project, potentially signalling yet more delays.

Confirming an earlier report, the European Commission on Wednesday said it will bring Ireland to the European Court of Justice for failing to collect at least $15 billion in back taxes from Apple, which were originally due Jan. 3.